Moral credential

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An individual's track record as a good egalitarian individual can establish an unconscious ethical certification, endorsement or license within that individual and this will increase their likelihood of making less egalitarian decisions later. This moral credentialing effect occurs even when the individual's audience is unaware of the individual's previously established moral credential. For example, individuals who had the opportunity to recruit a woman or African American in one setting were more likely to say later, in a different setting, that a job would be better suited for a man or a Caucasian (Monin & Miller, 2001).